A New Way to Meet Life

Recently, I had Covid. It triggered serious asthma, yet I found myself meeting it all in a completely new way.

A few months ago, I returned to studying Kabbalah, and since then, my life has taken on a new radiance — a glow of joy and meaning. One of the practices I’ve embraced is thanking Spirit for everything that comes into my life — not only the good and beautiful moments, but also the messy, uncomfortable, painful, and sad ones.

Why?

Because giving thanks to the Creator, to Spirit, for all that unfolds is deeply connected to the flow of Light into our Vessel. The Vessel — our human soul — is designed to receive Light. When we complain, resist, or judge, the Vessel contracts, and the flow of Light is blocked. Gratitude, on the other hand, is one of the highest states of alignment. It expands the Vessel.

During the past eight days of being unwell with Covid and asthma, I felt moved to write about how blessed I was — not just by the experience itself, but by the immense love that surrounded me. The kind phone calls. The food package from one daughter. Another daughter sleeping over to stay close. The texts and messages that kept arriving. I was, quite literally, flooded with love.

And yet, when I shared that reflection, not one of the forty-five people who responded mentioned my feeling the blessing in illness. Every message expressed sympathy — kind offers of help, hopes for recovery — but no one seemed to understand that I wasn’t writing to seek comfort. I was writing to share the power of gratitude — even in hardship.

It made me reflect on how difficult it is to believe that gratitude is possible in the midst of suffering.

In a few days, it will be seven years since my husband — my partner of almost forty years who died suddenly. Within four years, I lost my father my mother and my husband. And yet, from the deepest truth of my heart, I can thank Spirit for these losses. My life has unfolded in unexpected, beautiful ways. New friends have appeared. I’ve written many blogs, and through my podcast, Grief’s Gift, I’ve shared the unimaginable treasures that can emerge from great loss and pain.

I appreciate every kind wish for my health — truly, I do. But that wasn’t the reason I wrote. I wanted to express the sacred power of giving thanks for everything we receive. Gratitude is not denial; it is humility. It is the recognition that Spirit, in infinite wisdom, sends us precisely what we need to grow, to flourish, and to shine.